What are the big questions astronomers want to ask Keith Mason, STFCs chief executive?
PC: The key from the astronomy perspective is that we want to get the best return for the taxpayer for the money that has gone in. Right now, because of the way in which the STFC has been set up in terms of its advisory structures of scientists, just too few scientists have been involved in the decision-making process. So the community doesn’t feel involved or engaged in that process. As a result of this, there has been a prioritisation of which facilities are top priority and are of lower priority, and that has been done by a very small number of scientists. Astronomers are a very disparate bunch. Some people want to study the Sun in detail, some want to carry out a mission to Mars, others want to study galaxies from space or planets from the ground. So we all have our own bits of kit we want. When you have so few scientists on those panels deciding on those prioritisations, even with their best efforts, it has been impossible for the community to feel as if the best use of taxpayers’
